Client Testimonials

Testimonials – read our clients feedback
We are confident that we provide an excellent service to our clients and are happy for the public to read genuine feedback from our satisfied customers. Here is a selection.

I’m sorry for not getting back to you sooner! It’s fantastic news and it would not have been at all possible without all your support and patience. We’ve been up at the land the last two days just getting a feel for it and working out where to start with things. We rented a van to move a shed that we’d been given, and had some adventures with it- getting stuck in mud unloading at 1.30am yesterday, and getting lost with my trailer and having to do a u turn on a single track dirt road with a sheer cliff one side and an overly heavy trailer full of bricks for the shed foundations the day before… scary at the time but we were laughing about it soon enough- and you’ve been key to all of it. We honestly could not have done it without you!
I’m looking at different childrens cancer charities and we will be making a donation in your name very soon.

Hoping to go back to the land tomorrow to sort out the shed panels which ended up being left in carious messy piles as they were unloaded, so we are keen to tidy the field up so it doesn’t look like we are just dumping things on there.

The timing was perfect- the shed we were given was on condition that we dismantle and remove it before the farmer who’s land it was on put his cattle there to graze- another day and we would have had to wait until next year.

All fun and games and we are absolutely loving every minute! Bri was saying it was like the land wanted us to wait- as we were stood in the dark scratching our heads as to how to get the van out of the mud (everything we had tried up to that point had resulted in it being buried deeper into the mud) we sat down, and had the amazing fortune of witnessing the full moon rising over the horizon. We gazed in awe for what felt like forever, then when it disappeared behind some cloud, we were suddenly able to free the van- like the land wanted us to see our first moon rise before letting us go home. We didn’t get back until gone 3am but it was worth it! And we know we will have plenty more of those magical moments- all thanks to you and all your hard work. You believed in us even when our friends and families said any land purchase was a useless endeavour that would never amount to success. And thanks to you, we proved them wrong!

I will be in touch soon when I have details of the donation. In the mean time, do you have a link to your website where I can leave feedback? I want the world to know how amazing you are- you really do make dreams come true, and we will forever be indebted to you for that.

Finally we got there, with great help and expertise from you. I would like to thankyou all for everything. We can now proceed with the dementia farm and I will keep you updated how this is going and send the occasional picture of the happy animals and people. Once again a massive thank you.

Thank you for your email. Unfortunately I had a call from Jenna this evening to tell me that despite presenting the vendor with all the information, she has decided to go with the other buyer. I’m told all the forms are as good as signed.

This may be a stupid question, but where do we go from here? Obviously we are now looking for other suitable land. Should we find any, is it possible to transfer the mortgage or does the whole process start again from scratch?

In either case, I’d like to thank you deeply for everything you have done for the three of us- you have gone above and beyond for us, and it’s very upsetting for that to be in vein.

I’m trying to be positive, but I’m really not sure where we are at now.

I await your advice, and give you my warmest thanks for all that you did.

Kindly, Liz.

I’m not sure where this leaves us. We will look to see if there is any more suitable land.

LATER FROM LIZ

Hi Mark,

As usual, you have been an absolute gem! I will go over these figures with the boys and if they are happy to proceed with making an offer, I will send you the sales particulars asap.

Many thanks for your jolly Christmas e mail. All good wishes to you also for Christmas and 2017.

Ten years ago today we were on the road from Hampshire to follow our dream to the Scottish Borders and here we are counting our blessings once again that we contacted Mark Bracegirdle at Farm and Country Finance who helped to make our dream come true.

I’ve just had confirmation that completion has taken place, which is great. Thank you for helping us with this transaction which at times felt like it would not happen, and also for bearing with me when things got trying. I suspect I will need to speak to you again when we start to implement our future plans which I hope will not be too disrupting.

Firstly I would like to say a very big thank you for all you have done for us in respect of Cow Farm, it seems as it has been never ending but you guided us through everything and kept our spirits up when we felt we were at a dead end so thank you.

When we were looking to buy some stables we got in touch with Mark Andrew of Farm and country finance.
He helped us find the finance and went out of his way to assist us, we had a few problems with the solicitor we were using so i gave mark a ring and he went above and beyond to keep the finance on track.
We can thoroughly recommend him to anyone looking for finance

Just a wee note to wish you both a very Merry Christmas and a Happy and Prosperous 2014. As always when Christmas comes, we remember how fortunate we were to meet Farm and Country Finance.

We are now in our seventh year north of the Border and are loving every minute. If you think you can you will – and we did !! We will always be eternally grateful to you and your expertise. We may have a project for you next year !

Dear Mr Bracegirdle I was most grateful for your time …..yesterday, you helped to clear things in my mind and explained everything so well, it was most appreciated. Should I need your services in the future I will definitely be calling you.

Mark, Nick joins me in expressing our sincere thanks and appreciation for all you did for us to negotiate the finance to enable us to meet out contract and complete. As you will recall I was fairly stressed out when we first spoke – but with your guidance and expertise all was resolved. Thank you so much.

May I take this opportunity to thank you once again, your personal level of customer service was first class. I will stay in touch because I am sure there will be other opportunities for me to follow up with you. I trust that you and your family will have an enjoyable Christmas and a successful New Year.

Throughout our dealings I have been impressed by your professionalism and your grasp of what to others can only appear to be a tortuous and frustrating process. At all times I have found you helpful, not to mention patient, and conscientious. I was more than happy to entrust the business in hand to your care and experience.

I am a client of Farm & Country Finance trading name L & G Bracegirdle Ltd.

Mr. Mark Bracegirdle has provided me with an excellent service, on each occasion. We have received valuable and swift attention to our financial requirements resulting in our needs met and solved efficiently.

We are now living the dream thanks to you, ( I have sent some clients through to you I may add ) we are now
enjoying every minute of it ! And at present time have 2 in pig gilts due to farrow in about 3 weeks time.

Thank you for your e mail which I received today having just been connected to the world again, i.e. BT connected the phone lines to the farm, and thank you for your assistance with obtaining the necessary finance.

I would dearly love to buy the other sites for restoration here but Elizabeth tells me I must wait, however, you just might get a phone call in the not too distant future, just as an enquiry you understand.

The farm is a truly lovely site although a little prone to wind so we are planting loads of trees and hedge plants, and it will not be too long now before we have bathrooms and kitchens fitted and even some floors back down. OH Yes, the joys of living in the house one is renovating.

Once again thanks for all the help and look forward to speaking to you soon, and if you are ever in this region for whatever obscure reason please feel welcome to visit.

Hi Mark,
Hope you had a good break – holiday that is, not leg!
You are well informed and our accountant also managed to speak with Mark B. We took his advice and have gone with Lloyds as they also agreed to an interst only for 12 months (thanks to Mark, I asked the question)

From our perspective, we want to say a big thank you to you both for being there for us as an objective, professional opinion and for all the work you put into our case. We know we won’t be putting any business your way at present but we will obviously need to look at this in the future to be able to build our house.

For the record, our accountant is ‘mightily impressed’ by the fact that you advised the best course of action for us over any thoughts of making a ‘bob or two’ yourselves. No doubt, you’ll be on her ‘phone list’ for her other clients and come the time for us to revisit, she will be confident and comfotable that you’ll get us the best deal.

You really do live out the ideals you set out on your web site – I just wish we had known you 5 years ago!

Dear Mark, Thankyou so much for all your help in sorting the re-finance of our farm – your efforts have been crucial in securing our future. In particular I want to acknowledge the courtesy, care and commitment you lent to our cause (which was almost a lost cause prior to your involvement). Aside from the sheer professionalism with which you dealt with the technical details, we were most comforted by the personal support you unstintingly gave: you carried us through a very difficult time with grace and good humour.. Thankyou sounds so insufficient in return.

Having already dealt with one broker who promised the earth and delivered nothing, and also lied to us, it was so refreshing to meet a genuine human being in such apparently shark-infested waters. Although you forebore to match the promises of other brokers, always erring on the side of caution, what you actually delivered exceeded what others had merely promised!

In an age when the actions of many seem to be driven solely by money, it is a tonic to the soul to deal with someone who abides by the eternal virtues of honesty, respect, courtesy and consideration for others. And if all this is beginning to sound a bit like an advert for you and your team, then please use it as a testimonial, it’s the least I can offer in return for your service.

We have been a customer of Mark Bracegirdle’s for 5 years, and have dealt with his company on 4 occasions. Mark brings a refreshingly independent view without preconceptions, yet is able to work at a pace which suits us. He actively worked to get to know our business as well as he could. From our experiences, Mark’s service represents quality, professionalism, loyalty and trust.

What sets him apart from others in this field is his commitment to work with us as a business. He does whatever it takes to provide nothing less than exceptional customer service, always listening and responding to our needs in a realistic and professional way.

We would have no hesitation in recommending Mark to other potential customers and would be more than happy to provide a verbal reference.

Farm & Country Finance has helped us to fulfil one of our life long ambitions. We had always wanted to buy a caravan park, and when one in our area came up for sale, we knew we had to buy it. We just presumed our regular bank, with which we had been customers with for twenty years, would lend us the money. Our own bank wouldn’t, and neither would any other high street bank.

It was at this point that we looked at alternative ways to raise the money. We did find a number of companies that would give us a mortgage, but at huge interest rates, and also with huge fees – far too high for us to be able to pay.

We were told about a man, Mark Bracegirdle, running a company called Farm & Country Finance. Within a few days of speaking to him, and giving him some information about ourselves, he had travelled up to see us, we filled in a few simple forms, and our mortgage application was up and running.

Mark did more in a week, than any other bank or company had done for us in over a month. His straightforward way of dealing with our application, and keeping us informed, made the whole process very easy for us. Mark was full of knowledge, and dealt with our application very professionally – but also with a great sense of humour; he turned, what had been an extremely stressful experience, into a very enjoyable one. We also learnt a great deal along the way.

We ended up with a mortgage deal much better than any high street bank could offer us, and in some cases, half the price of some of the alternative companies that we had considered. Farm & Country Finance has simply saved us thousands and thousands of pounds.

We have since recommended Mark to various people, and in the future, when we expand our business, we will be using Farm & Country again – in fact, we can’t imagine ever going anywhere else.

It’s good to know you are still there doing your stuff. Looking at the case studies and testimonials on your website and my relating them to my own personal experience, it’s refreshing to know someone with your gift is helping people instead of taking advantage at times that can be really stressfull. Thanks for all your help, talk to you soon,

Dear Mark
How strange it is not be phoning you in some sort of panic, and many apologies for not letting you know that the long awaited cash had arrived!
Although doubtless you knew before me!

Anyway, I am now back to composure and feel that this letter can be left no longer as I fully intended to do it over a week ago.

I cannot begin to explain how grateful we are to you for your professional and friendly service. So many times I remembered your words, “if you think you can, you will” And we did! With your help and hard work. We certainly could not have done it without you.
Please keep in touch, and many thanks again from both of us.

I write to thank you most sincerely for all you did in the negotiations to obtain the re-mortgage for me – for your efficient, speedy way of working and your obvious thorough knowledge of what is required and how best to approach the matter.

I would be delighted to recommend your services to anyone requiring a mortgage. Once again, many thanks and my best wishes for the future.

Dear Mark, I write to say a big thank you for the un-biased and sound advice you gave us recently when we were considering buying the farm cottage. It helped us to make wise decisions in our negotiations with my brother-in-law and brought such clarity to the situation especially concerning the restrictive covenant on the property. I chose to contact you initially when I was looking for an agricultural lender because of the testimonials I read on your website. The impression I got was that you were an individual with experience and knowledge in this market place and a man with wisdom and integrity. I am pleased to say I was not disappointed; you certainly lived up to my expectations. As you know, for reasons beyond our control we have not been able to proceed with this purchase and feel very disappointed, but life goes on. Who knows perhaps we may get the opportunity again some time. If that does happen I will not hesitate to contact you. Thank you also, for your efficiency and friendliness with returning calls and obtaining information for us. I wish you continued success in your business and will not hesitate to recommend you if ever I have the opportunity to do so.